LSU Veterinary School researcher joins other National Academy of Inventors fellows
at national conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 17, 2017

BOSTON--Mandi Lopez, DVM, PhD, DACVS, professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical
Sciences and director of the Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research,
joined nearly 400 constituents of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in Boston
April 5-7 for its Sixth Annual Conference. The conference featured keynote speeches
by Andrew H. Hirshfeld, U.S. Commissioner for Patents, Lisa Seacat DeLuca, IBM's most
prolific female inventor, and H. Robert Horvitz, Nobel Laureate and professor at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. The meeting also included the NAI's inaugural Student Innovation
Showcase.

The theme of the NAI's sixth annual conference was "Recognizing Pillars of Academic
Innovation," and the program featured presentations on topics such as Changing the
Academic Innovation Landscape, Issues Relating to Public Policy and Entrepreneurship
and Commercialization Drive the Future of Innovation. Presenters included academic
luminaries among the NAI's members and Fellows as well as university leaders, government
officials, and student innovators.

The NAI inducted the newly elected Fellows on April 6 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential
Library and Museum, where Hirshfeld will delivered a keynote address.

"It is an honor to once again participate in the NAI's Annual Conference and the induction
of some of our nation's most esteemed academic inventors," Hirshfeld said. "It is
extremely gratifying to watch the NAI grow into one of the leading organizations that
promotes invention by emphasizing the role of patents. I look forward to honoring
the newest class of NAI Fellows and their vital contributions to society."

The NAI Fellows Program has 757 Fellows worldwide representing more than 229 prestigious
universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions. Collectively,
the Fellows hold more than 26,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated more than
8,500 licensed technologies and companies, and created more than 1.1 million jobs.
In addition, over $100 billion in revenue has been generated based on NAI Fellow discoveries.

With the induction of the 2016 class, there are now 94 presidents and senior leaders
of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 382 members of the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 31 inductees of the National Inventors
Hall of Fame, 45 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation
and U.S. National Medal of Science, 28 Nobel Laureates, 216 AAAS Fellows, 126 IEEE
Fellows, and 122 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, among other awards
and distinctions.

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 30 veterinary schools in the
U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. The LSU SVM is dedicated to improving the lives
of people and animals through education, research and service. We teach. We heal.
We discover. We protect.